Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/823875
maltatoday, MONDAY, 15 MAY 2017 News 9 YANNICK PACE LABOUR Party candidate Ian Castaldi Paris has accused Nationalist Party MP and former Parliamentary Secre- tary Jason Azzopardi of using his position as Parliamen- tary Secretary responsible for lands to accelerate a process allowing him to become the owner of land on which his house was built. Castaldi Paris was address- ing a press conference yes- terday together with Michael Falzon. He explained that in 2010, Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi was looking to buy a property and had signed an agreement with the owners of a particular property he had set his sights on. "It was the type of prop- erty, where the land had not yet been passed on to the government, preventing one from being the owner of one's house" said Castaldi Paris. When the agreement was made, said Castaldi Paris, a letter was sent to the hous- ing authority to approve that Jason Azzopardi was now oc- cupying the house. "In cases like this, the value of the property is not the true value of the property because if I am not the owner of the land, I am, in reality not the owner of my house," he said, adding that people in this situation must wait for the government to pay the people from whom the land had been taken so that it can be passed on to the owner of the prop- erty. He claimed that between setting sights on the prop- erty and the transfer of the occupancy to Azzopardi, the latter had already "started preparing manoeuvres and preparing the necessary pa- pers and documentation" for him to be preferred, and for the government to compen- sate the owners of the land so that he could become the owner of his home. "Shortly after, coinciden- tally, out of all the territory in Malta where people are awaiting payment for land taken from them by the gov- ernment, a presidential order was issued for the govern- ment of the day to pay the owners of the land," he said. "This means that Jason Azzo- pardi accelerated the process for the land on which his house was situated to become his own." He emphasised that a pro- cess that would have nor- mally taken a long time was accelerated in this case, and that this was particularly in- sulting to the many people in similar situations who were constantly told there was not enough money for them to be compensated for their land. Michael Falzon said that if nothing else, the story high- lights the hypocrisy and lack of standards on the part of some in the Nationalist Par- ty. "We are seeing the direct political intervention of a politician, for him to gain personally," said Falzon, add- ing that he expected Busuttil to take action against Azzo- pardi. "This is not Jason Azzopar- di's first case, it's not a one off," added Falzon. "He has a trail of dubious political in- terventions." He said that it was enough to refer to the hundreds of encroachments issued before the last general election, the Lowenbrau land transfer, the "Fekruna case" which cost the country millions and a number of others. "He still has the blessing of Simon Busuttil, maybe be- cause he spews the same type of hatred as Busuttil," said Falzon. Specialists in EXPOSED AGGREGATE (pebble look). • Available in a choice of colours. • The perfect surface for any outdoor area including driveways, pool areas and steps. • Cleaning and reseal of existing surfaces also available. • All works carried out to a high standard. Customer satisfaction is essential. Fast, friendly service. • On site quotes on request. Call on 99953411/ 99978412 or email on: lghtnjns@gmail.com Labour Party accuses Jason Azzopardi of abusing power for his own personal interests Michael Falzon (left) alleged that Jason Azzopardi (right) accelerated the process for the land on which his house was situated to become his own